760511 - Lecture SB 06.01.10 - Honolulu

Lectures by Date, 1976

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

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760511SB-HONOLULU - May 11, 1976 - 18.13 Minutes

Prabhupāda: Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. (devotees repeat) Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Sixth Canto, First Chapter, verse number ten. (leads devotees in chanting)

kvacin nivartate 'bhadrāt

kvacic carati tat punaḥ

prāyaścittam atho 'pārthaṁ

manye kuñjara-śaucavat

(SB 6.1.10)

(01:58)

So Parīkṣit Mahārāja, he said that everyone in this material world knows what is, to some extent at least, or to his capacity, knows, "This is right" or "This is wrong." May not be very advanced in knowledge, but something they know, "This is right; this is wrong."

So criminality we have described. Everyone knows "This is not good," but he is punished; again he does that. So Parīkṣit Mahārāja said, "What is the use of this atonement?" He further explains in this verse that kvacit nivartate abhadrāt. Abhadra means unclean, wrong things. Bhadra means right thing. Bhadra and abhadra. In India bhadra means gentleman and abhadra means uncivilized man. So sometimes he does like gentleman and sometimes like foolish rascal. Kvacin nivartate 'bhadrāt kvacic carati tat punaḥ. After coming from the prison house, jail, he decides, "No more I shall commit. I shall now become gentleman." But as soon as his friends, criminals, again mix with them, he again commits the same sinful activity.

So in this condition, atonement, if he cannot change his character, so what is the use of this atonement? Prāyaścittam atho 'pārtham. Apārtham means useless. If he cannot change his character, change his mind, then the punishment, or prāyaścittam, is apārtha, useless. How useless? Manye, "I think it is as useless as kuñjara-śaucavat." Kuñjara means elephant. Elephants taking bath, perhaps you have not seen. In India we had some opportunity. They wash the body very nicely, repeatedly throwing water with the trunk, and as soon as come on the shore of the tank, again take some dust and throws over the body. We have to study from nature that how is that. This rascal washed so nicely his body, and immediately, coming out of the tank, he throws dust. Śaucye manye kuñjara-śaucavat. Very appropriate. It is that hasti-snāna. In Sanskrit it is called hasti-snāna. Snāna means "bathing" and hasti means "elephant."

So if we are not changing our character, then what is the use of advancement of knowledge, education? That I told you yesterday, that in spite of so-called advancement of education, culture, science, philosophy, the result is when you go to the airport you are proved you are a dishonest man. Everyone is checked means everyone is dishonest, it is to be supposed. Maybe some honest men, but the majority are dishonest. Even there is somebody honest, he also . . . gardulika pravāha Majority. Nowadays it is democratic days, majority. So as this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is also taken as one of the sentimental movements . . . it is the most scientific movement, but because there are so many gurus, rascals, they imagine something and cheat people. People want to be cheated. They take advantage. So we are also one of them, because majority is this. "It is folly to be wise where ignorance is bliss." When everyone is rascal, to become intelligent is rascaldom. Otherwise you say, "I am also a rascal." Then it is all right. If you say, "No, you are rascal," then there is fight.

So this is going on. Actually, it will be explained in the next verse. Parīkṣit Mahārāja puts a very intelligent question, that "What is the use of this kind of prāyaścitta, atonement? It has no use." So as the student is intelligent, the spiritual master is also gradually giving him more intelligence. First of all, for ordinary man the atonement, punishment, he proposed. But when the student, intelligent student, Mahārāja Parīkṣit, says, "It is useless," then next proposal is,

karmaṇā karma-nirhāro

na hy ātyantika iśyate

avidvad-adhikāritvāt

prāyaścittaṁ vimarśanam

(SB 6.1.11)

Avidyā. If somebody is kept into darkness, then there is no use of this punishment, or prāyaścitta. So he proposes that the man in darkness should be educated. Vimarśanam. Vimarśanam means cultivation of knowledge, culture. So where is that culture? There is no culture. We propose that the beginning of culture is "No illicit sex." This is the beginning. Who is accepting that? "Illicit sex? Why illicit sex? Sex is sex." No, that is the beginning of culture, because in the dog society there is no marriage, and why in the human society there is marriage? They could avoid it. And nowadays they are being avoided. In the Kali-yuga there will be no more marriage. That is stated in the Bhāgavata. It is stated. Five thousand years ago it was foretold that during Kali-yuga, svīkāra eva codvāhe (SB 12.2.5). Just see. This is called śāstra. Five thousand years ago it was foretold that marriage means agreement. It will be in Kali-yuga. Svīkāram eva codvāhe. This is called śāstra. Bhūt bhaviṣyat vartamāna, everything. That is śāstra, and that is perfect knowledge. And dam-patye ratir eva hi (SB 12.2.3). Rati means sex satisfaction. So husband and wife means sex satisfaction. It will be the standard of man and woman's relationship. Dam-patye ratim eva hi. Vipratve sūtram eva hi (SB 12.2.3): to become a brāhmaṇa means a thread, a two-cent worth, one thread. That's all. This is going on. These are all foretold. So that is being explained.

So,

karmaṇā karma-nirhāro

na hy ātyantika iśyate

avidvad-adhikāritvāt

prāyaścittaṁ vimarśanam

(SB 6.1.11)

"So, yes, the guru, Śukadeva Gosvāmī, has examined Parīkṣit Mahārāja, and it appears that the king has passed one phase of examination by rejecting the process of atonement (SB 6.1.11 purport)." This is intelligence. lmmediately said, "Guru, what is this?" He has rejected. "Rejecting the process of atonement because it involves fruitive activities . . . (SB 6.1.11 purport)" Karma. Karma, I have committed some sinful activity, then other, another karma to punish me. So here it is said by . . . one karma cannot be nullified by another karma. Karma means activity. They are going on, passing resolution after resolution and laws after laws, but things are in the same position. They are not changing. Therefore it cannot be checked in that way. Karmaṇā karma-nirhāra.

Now Śukadeva Gosvāmī is suggesting the platform of speculative knowledge. When it has failed that a thief, repeatedly committing criminal activities, repeatedly he is being punished but he is not corrected, then what is the remedy? That is vimarśanam, speculative knowledge. Progressing from karma-kāṇḍa to jñāna-kāṇḍa, he is proposing prāyaścittaṁ vimarśanam: real atonement is full knowledge. One should be given knowledge.

Unless one comes to the knowledge . . . so modern education there is no real knowledge. Real knowledge begins in the Bhagavad-gītā. Those who have read Bhagavad-gītā, the first understanding, Arjuna was given lesson. When he was perplexed and he became a disciple of Kṛṣṇa, śiṣyas te 'haṁ śādhi māṁ prapannam (BG 2.7): "Kṛṣṇa, let us stop this friendly talking. Let us stop this friendly talking. Now I agree to become Your disciple. Now You teach me." So the first teaching was chastisement. Aśocyān anvaśocas tvaṁ prajñā-vādāṁś ca bhāṣase (BG 2.11): "You have no knowledge." Gātāsun agatāsūṁś ca nānuśocanti paṇḍitāḥ: "You are talking like a paṇḍita but you are not paṇḍita." He indirectly says, "You are a fool," because nānuśocanti, "This kind of thinking is not maintained by learned scholars." That means "You are not a learned man." That is going on at the present moment. Everyone is thinking that he is very highly elevated, learned, but he is fool number one. That is going on, because there is no standard knowledge.

Sanātana Gosvāmī also, when he approached Caitanya Mahāprabhu, he also said the same thing. He was in the sense. He was prime minister. He was very learned scholar in Sanskrit and Urdu—in those days Urdu, because it was Muhammadan government. But he thought it wise that "They call me learned scholar, but what kind of scholar I am?" He put this question before Caitanya. Grāmya vyavahāre kahaye paṇḍita satya kari māni, āpanāra hitāhita kichui nāhi jāni (CC Madhya 20.100): "My dear Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, these common men, they say that I am M.A., Ph.D., D.A.C. and so on, so on. I am very learned scholar. But I am so big scholar that I do not know what I am and what is my aim of life." Just see. Ask any so-called scholar that "What is the aim of life?" He cannot say. The aim of life is the same, like the dog: eat, drink, be merry, and enjoy and die. That's all. So where is education? There is no education. Real education is different: that one must know his own position and act accordingly. That you can get from Vedic knowledge.

tad vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet

samit-pāniḥ śrotriyaṁ brahma-niṣṭham

(MU 1.2.12)

Brahma-niṣṭham. If one has no sense to understand Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or God consciousness, he is no better than the dog and cat. No credit. According to Vedic civilization, anyone who is thinking, "I am this body," and doing accordingly—for the bodily pleasure he is working so hard—so that is not knowledge. Here it is suggested that prāyaścittam vimarśanam. If you want to be saved from the tribulation offered by the material nature, then you have to be very thoughtful, thinking that what is the actual position. That is the beginning of Vedānta-sūtra, that "You inquire about Brahman, the Absolute Truth." Athāto brahma jijñāsā. This human form of life, don't spoil it like cats and dogs, eating, sleeping, mating and dancing. No. So, so same dancing, same eating can be utilized when it is in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Then he will be . . . simply by dancing and chanting and taking prasādam you'll be learned scholar.

Thank you very much.

Devotees: Jaya. (end)